Using Lean to improve customer service

1. Using Lean to improve customer service

2. Lean at the University of St Andrews an introductory guide The benefits of Lean Why Lean at St Andrews? The five principles of Lean The eight wastes How can I implement Lean in my area? Knowing what your customer wants Measuring and data-gathering Using charts to interpret information Mapping the customer journey Using 5S to organise your workplace Using visual management tools What next? Keeping Lean going How do I make Lean work for me? Ensuring great customer service Where can I get more support?

3. The benefits of Lean Why go Lean? Lean thinking began with the Toyota Production System which transformed car manufacturing in post-war Japan, but is now being used by companies and organisations around the world, in the public and private sectors, to improve: Customer service Quality and efficiency Staff morale Internal communication and cooperation Lean is simple to implement and results are easily sustained. The principles are common-sense and can be adapted to give benefits in a range of business and service environments. For example, in recent years both Tesco and the NHS have successfully used Lean to improve the quality of their service. The benefits they have seen include: Reduced waiting times Lower costs Improved customer experience

4. People have got all sorts of questions about Lean: Why here, why now? Isn’t “Lean” more appropriate to manufacturing and heavy industry? Is this just the latest management fad? The fact is, Lean has proven its worth in streamlining processes and improving Efficiency within office administration. Many UK universities are now implementing large-scale change programmes aimed at reviewing their administrative services and developing a culture of continuous improvement. High quality administrative support is vital for the smooth running of every area of the University of St Andrews. As in many organisations, administrative functions in St Andrews have grown organically, which can lead to some services suffering because of a lack of coordination and clarity of purpose. We have a lot of skilled and motivated people who want to provide great service. Now it’s important to ensure that our administrative staff members are able to direct their Time and energy in doing so, without being held back or let down by outdated, unnecessary processes.

5. The five principles of Lean

6. Lean begins with an awareness of waste in our administrative processes, and in considering how we can reduce or remove it. The eight wastes we may find are:

7. How can I implement Lean in my area? Lean has a number of tools that can be used to help you. These tools are designed to be quick and simple to use, and present information in a visual way that is easy to understand. Tools include: Data-gathering techniques Charts and diagrams Value stream mapping 5S for workplace organisation Visual management These are just some of the tools that may help you understand demand, measure performance and plan for change. The Lean project team can give you information on and examples of further tools that you may find useful.

8. Who is your customer? Probably your customers include students. Consider also the other people (or organisations) to whom you provide information, data, paperwork or to whom you refer students. Internally, your customers may be academics, School secretaries, or colleagues in other administrative departments. Externally, you may deal with parents, alumni, colleagues at other higher education institutions, funding bodies, local businesses, etc. Your customer = anyone, internal or external, who is affected by your processes or services What does your customer want? The best way to find out is to ask them. Arrange to visit colleagues for a chat about what they need from you. Use feedback forms (printed or electronic) to ask your customer to rate your service. Collect data on what customers are asking you when they get in touch, in their own words. Encourage feedback – good AND bad. A silent customer isn’t necessarily a happy customer, and you can only fix the problems if you know what they are.

9. A good place to begin building a picture of your current processes and service is by measuring and data-gathering. Consider measuring such things as: End-to-end time of dealing with a work unit (this may be an individual file or application, a visitor, an invoice, or a transaction). How long work or customers spend waiting for the next step in the process. Volume of work dealt with, and how this varies over a year (or week/month). Number, type and source of errors. Frequency and type of customer demand – what are your customers asking for, do most of them want similar things, and are they currently receiving what they want from you? Type of communication – how many people contact you by phone? By email? By letter or fax? In person? Measuring and data-gathering